Free! Cardverse AU
by johnsonyew
Summary: An Alternate Universe I came up with. Just One-shots. The rest will be relies on your imagination.
1. Introduction

Cardverse AU! setted in an alternate universe of Free! series which the characters are either the King, Queen, Jack or Ace of the respective kingdoms of Spades, Clubs, Hearts and Diamonds. Here's the basic information of this AU.

 **Ranks**

For each countries, there are 13 important ranks that rule the country itself. The King, Queen, Jack and Ace are the most powerful ranks among them all. These ranks are selected through markings on the dominant hands. Here are roles of the 4 important ranks:

- **King** : the leader of the country, who hold the power of each country's power instrument. They are responsible for the fate of the country's wealth and prosperity.

- **Queen** : the protector of the country, who protects each country's power gem. They have magical powers and the King's main supporter.

- **Jack** : the messenger of the country and the private investigators for the King. They are agile and cunning with good observational and negotiation skills. They are free to cross borders of countries and permitted to meet the Kings and Queens of the countries. They resemble the ministers of foreign relations.

- **Ace** : the prime minister of the country and the leader of other 9 ministers. They are also strategists of war and advisors to the King. Their intelligence is the key to provide help for the King to rule the country.

- **2 to 10:** subordinates of Ace. Their roles differ according to each country. They are like the ministers working under the Prime Minister.

(Side note: King and Queen are merely ranks, they are not affiliated with marriage)

 **Title**

Anyone who are titled are nobles of the country.

-Count/Countess: such titles are given to people who are ranked as Jack/Ace/2-10. They usually use courtesy title like Lord/Lady. However, they cannot pass their title to their heir.

-Duke/Duchess: such titles are given to parents/guardian of the King or Queen. Not applicable for any relatives. Their title would be taken away once the King or Queen is dead.

-Prince/Princess: such titles are given to siblings or children of the King or Queen. They are not as the potential heirs of the throne, but serve in a court as an officer. Their title would be taken away once the King or Queen is dead.

-Baron/Baroness: this title is only given by the King to any civilian who is outstanding. This is the only title which they can pass to their legacy, but the King only provide this title to a certain individual in a year.

 **Joker**

Jokers is an organisation with skilled assassins who kill people with ranks. Jacks sometime would travel to gather information and hunt them down. Their motif and location remain unknown.

 **Countries**

The countries range from Clubs, Spades, Hearts and Diamonds. Each countries has different characteristics.

- **Clubs** : The largest country. The country is highly dependent on primary sector jobs like farming, fishing and plantations. However, they are the happiest country. The country power instrument is the Club staff and the power gem is Emerald.

- **Spades** : Military-based country and third largest. The country trains the best warriors and they offer training for other countries' army. It has a friendly association with the country of Hearts. Recently they went through an uprising against the previous king, which the country is under rehabilitation. The country power instrument is the Spades sword and the power gem is Sapphire.

- **Hearts** : The highest population density and has the second largest landmass. The country is famous for their artistic talent like drawing, dancing, singing, and more , but it is also where the most crime is convicted. Thus, it is splited into the bright side and the dark side. The country power instrument is the Heart shield and the power gem is Ruby.

- **Diamonds** : The richest and the smallest country. It is made up of streams and rivers. Their people value education and they had an enormous library in the city centre. They wear masks to determine their statuses. The country power instrument is the Diamond mirror and the power gem is Yellow Diamond.

 **Power instrument and gem**

-Power instrument is the symbol of a country. Each King wields their respective instruments to show their dedication of regin and the source of their power.

-Power gem is the soul of a country. Each Queen are designed to protect their respective countries' gem.

Here is the list of the rank and country for each characters of Free!

 **Clubs**  
King: Makoto  
Queen: Haru  
Jack: Nagisa  
Ace: Rei

 **Spades**  
King: Sousuke  
Queen: Rin  
Jack: Momo  
Ace: Ai

 **Hearts**  
King: Seijuro  
Queen: Chigusa  
Jack: Kisumi  
Ace: Gou

 **Diamonds**  
King: Natsuya  
Queen: Nao  
Jack: Asahi  
Ace: Ikuya

And may you all have fun in this AU.


	2. Rin in Cardverse

**Summary: Our beloved Shark Boy found himself in Wonderland. But with a twist**

 **Pairings: SouRin, MakoHaru**

"Rin! Rin! Wake up! We're almost there."

"Shut up, Sousuke-" Matsuoka Rin was still dizzy, he rubbed his temples as he slowly gained his consciousness. He felt his body trembling non-stop. Not because of he was sick or anything else, it was caused by the uneven road.

Rin did not remember he was in some sort of transportation. He was in the Iwatobi High school, having a joint practice with Haru and the others. After swimming for two hours and the half, they had decided to have lunch in their school before going back. They waited in an empty classroom while Gou, Nagisa and Rei went to a nearby fast food restaurant. He could have follow her, but he felt unusually sleepy. He placed his head on a table and closed his eyes, drifting into dreamland.

Yet he did not expect himself to be inside a 40s car with his best friend beside him.

"Rin, are you alright?" Sousuke asked. "Do you need to throw up?"

"I'm fine-" Certainly he was not. Rin just realized that he was no longer in Iwatobi, or in Japan. He was in an unfamiliar environment, the vintage-looking buildings and peculiar landscapes, he might be in an European country.

Not just all of that made him feel terrified. He was wearing a handsome black and red military uniform, with a small cape hanging off his left shoulder. Black leather gloves and polished boots (the one he desired to own) covering his hands and feet, and a black captain cap with a blue Spades symbol-like those in a deck of cards) sewn in the middle sitting on his lap. He wondered where his team jersey had gone, and who had changed his clothes.

He was not the only one with the weird clothing. Beside him, Sousuke was wearing a teal colored trench coat that resembled those from WW2 based movies he had watched. He had a brown travelers hat on his head and a leather suitcase by his feet. He was drinking something out of an antique thermos. With a few sips, he offered the thermos to Rin.

"Coffee?"

"I don't want to taste your saliva," Rin declined. "And since when you drink coffee?"

"I always drink coffee."

"You don't. You flinch at the taste of it."

"Don't you remember? I drink coffee every morning." Sousuke stated, then he smirked. "And you always finish the other half of mine."

Rin gave him a confused glare. He felt so disgusted by the thought of sharing a drink with another person, even if it's his best friend. This Sousuke was not the friend he recognized. He acted as if Rin was his spouse and he's the man of the relationship.

The dreamland surely made Rin having impure thoughts.

Sousuke leaned over to have a closer look. "You're weird today."

"So are you." Rin retorted. "You started to have an addiction to coffee; you treated me as I'm your lover. The most importantly, what's with the damn outfit!"

"First of all, I am not addicted to coffee, I have a fixation on wine. Second, you're my lover. Third-" His tone turned into a flirtatious one. "You love me wearing this and you can't resist to take them off before bedtime."

Seeing his best friend sweet talking to him sent him shivers on his skin. It could have made him feel uncomfortable, but why his heart fluttered when Sousuke grabbed his chin gently, and placed a small kiss on his lips. The sensation brought warmth to his face.

"Your Highnesses," The driver interrupted them. "We're at the entrance of the Club's palace. Hoping you can be ready."

Rin tenderly pushed him away, turning his gaze outside. He was wondering all the bizarre things that had happened to him. Were they playing a prank on him? Rin knew his teammates had tasted his shark wrath the last time they pulled his leg. Sousuke was not someone who would casually tease another. What had caused him having such behavioral change?

The scenery outside had slowly diverting him from all his puzzlement. Rin had never visited an Europeans style castle before. In Australia, they had bijou castles that were up for sale, not for tourism. The neatly grazed porch was filled with dandelions and daisies, with white butterflies playing hide-and-seek. The white and green baroque style building in front of them must be the Clubs palace. A flag with a three-petal clover that was placed on top of it with pride and waving to them as it was giving its greatest welcome upon their arrival. In the middle of the pathway, a fountain with several dolphin statues was situated there, causing a round-about. On top of the fountain, there rested an elegant mermaid, with water sprung out from her vase. With the skillfully constructed architecture, Rin could hear his friend Rei exclaiming 'It's so beautiful!' from far away.

The automobile stopped in front of the palace. Rin opened the car door for himself, getting out from the cramped compartment swiftly. Sousuke, waited for the driver to open the door and emerged in a leisure pace. The driver-whose name Rin did not know-proceed to unload the baggage

Despite the long journey he had in the car, Rin did not notice that there were six cars following behind them. They were all in the same model and a dullish color. People came out from the car in a very slow manner. With two of them were people Rin being familiar with and the remaining were in the same uniform as their driver.

Those two people were Nitori Aiichirou and Mikoshiba Momo.

Rin could not be any happier, as he found his underclassmen in the same situation as his. However, the feeling of joy was gone when he saw them in weird clothing as well. Ai was wearing a laced white blouse, suspenders hanging on his shoulder that supported his black trousers. A greyish bag dangling on him seemed heavy. Rin wanted to help the poor guy carrying that weight but there was an invisible force preventing him from doing so. Momo, on the other hand, wearing the most ridiculous outfit Rin had ever seen. He could see he was trying to pull off a hunter look, with his rifle and the cap. The color of the outfit was bright enough to make his prey able to spot his presence.

"Your Majesties," Ai bowed to them politely, the others imitate his actions. "Were you enjoying the ride?"

"Indeed," 'Sousuke' replied, with a light knock on a car near him. "It surely improved a lot. One thing that I'm disappointed is the stiffy seats. Otherwise, the automobile is alright to launch."

'Ai' nodded. "I will tell them to fix this."

"Moreover," 'Sousuke' added. "The Queen wasn't feeling right today, would you mind examine him, Doctor Nitori?"

Queen? Where's the Queen? Rin was pretty sure that he had not seen any woman following them. But the King stated the Queen as 'him'. How would a made taking such feminine role and the King's consort? There was a pang of jealousy rose inside him. If 'Sousuke' was married, why would he flirt in the car? Or kissed him as he was the wife. The guilt of being the 'mistress' grew inside of him.

"Your Highness, are you feeling alright?" 'Ai' asked. Rin felt a sense of irritation.

"Don't call me Your Highness. I'm not-"

"Of course I should address you in such manner! You're the Queen after all!"

"Huh?" Him? The Queen? So he was married to 'Sousuke'. Butterflies started to form in his belly, inappropriate thoughts forming in his brain about him and his 'husband' together. Now he needed to stop being girly.

Rin just noticed that they had waited for quite some time. Their men had finished unloading their bags with their cars driven away to find a suitable parking spot. 'Momo', who was impatient all along, begged the King to let him hunt for bugs, which he received a refusal. 'Ai' was writing something on his notebook, it looked like medical jargons and some human anatomy. Ai was a person who aced at human biology, but never took an interest in chemistry.

The main door swung opened promptly, there was a sharp voice coming out which Rin had easily knew who was that.

"My apologizes for being late!"

Rin saw Hazuki Nagisa, wearing clothes that was as hideous as Momo's. He wore a yellowish Victorian schoolboy outfit with a big white bow hanging on his collar. He ran down the steps in a dash! Behind him were some men in ugly green uniform and two young children in stunning garments, peeking out from the door. Rin identified them as Makoto's younger siblings, the liveliest little beings of the Tachibana family. The twins timidly stepping out into the sun and waved politely at their guests.

"We did not expect Spades will arrive this early. Anyways, welcome to the Kingdom of Clubs," 'Nagisa' gave them a polite bow. I, Nagisa Hazuki, Jack of Clubs, hereby as the welcoming crew with our First Prince of Clubs Ren Tachibana and First Princess of Clubs Ran Tachibana. We hope you can have a pleasant stay in our country."

'Sousuke' let out a chuckle and clapped his hands. His men followed, turning into an applause. This 'Nagisa' had a vibe of seriousness, unlike the Nagisa he knew. He was being proper greeting instead of glomping into people casually.

"The King and Queen of Clubs were expecting your arrival in the dining lounge. Hoping you can accompany them for lunch." 'Nagisa' instructed two men to guide them to the dining room, while the rest of the Clubs guard their Spades men to bring in their belongings into their guest chambers. Before entering the premise, 'Momo' gave 'Nagisa' a high-five and they showed a cheeky smile to each other. Guess their friendliness remained unchanged.

The guards leaded them down the hallway to the left. The architecture inside the building amazed him. The wall hung paintings of variety of landscapes and marine animals, with a scent of lavender lingering his nose. Green clovers engraved on furnitures and window bars. The guards explained the paintings by the Queen to them, who prefer scenery drawings than portraits. They also stated that the green clover of the country symbolizes luck, and represented their country. At the end of the hallway, they arrived at a wooden door, which one of the guards stopped and knocked lightly on the door.

"Your Majesty, the representatives from Spades are here!" The guard called.

"Let them in!' A voice boomed from the inside. The guard opened the door for them to enter. The dining lounge was enormous, yet the only furniture around was an extremely long rectangular mahogany dining table with chairs surrounding it. There was a small pathway at the far right of the room, probably connected to the kitchen. It seemed like the Queen had a great passion on paintings, with more topographical drawings around.

He spotted the King of Clubs, who turned out to be Tachibana Makoto, having a green top on his head, with a matching Victorian style formal wear, sat on the short end of the rectangular dining table. Rin also saw his rival Nanase Haruka sitting right beside him in a blue military uniform, reading a book. His purple cape hung on the chair, fluttering in the air as it was dancing. He had never seen Haru reading before, but who knows? 'Makoto', who was previously observing his best friend, rose from his seat in an exuberant manner.

"Well, isn't it our friends from Spades?" 'Makoto' spoke. "Still early as usual." He offered his right hand out in the air. 'Sousuke' advanced towards him and shook it with a respectful manner.

"It's our custom to arrive any event earlier than usual," the Spades King replied. "How are you and your Queen going?"

"As usual. Our engagement is still running smoothly."

"For that, I would like to congratulate the both of you."

"And Haru and I appreciate it." the Kings released their hands. 'Sousuke' gestured them to take their seats, just opposite 'Haru'. Rin had figured out that he was the Queen of Clubs, which he wanted to burst out laughing, but he remembered his own ranking. They wasn't any food being served yet, as there would be more guests arriving. Instead, they were provided bread and vegetable soup, as appetizers. Once again, the Kings got into a heated conversation. Rin ate silently while he listened to them talking about their private lives.

'Makoto' talked about his relationship with 'Haru'. It was pretty revolting when Rin heard the King described his childhood friends as he was his source of life. Sometimes 'Haru' would cut in, but otherwise his eyes were glue onto the book. Rin was quite not comprehensible of this world's marriage law and their rule of relationships. The Makoto and Haru he knew surely acted like an old married couple, but they were friends. This world's strange conception of love makes same-sex couple can freely love and get married. It was not that Rin was being homophobic, he was just not getting used to his friends acting lovey-dovey.

'Sousuke', on the other hand, talked about his love of wine. He had used his wage on Diamond's high quality red wine and how he get the Queen of Spades to drink it with him every night before bed. Rin soon had this sense of sympathy towards his other self. Aside from that, he talked about his daily routine in Spades. Evidently, he was coronated months ago and the task of ruling a country was new to him. He still required helps from his subordinates and the Queen of Spades, who had the longest reign among the 13 of them. He also suffered from his shoulder pain, which he got from the Spades rebellion war. Doctor Nitori, their Ace of Spades was in charge of his medical treatment.

"Ah, Doctor Nitori," the Clubs King called out. "Your order on the herbs was ready, please confirm the amount with our 10th after the meeting."

"I almost forgot about the herbs! Thank you for the reminder."

"Anytimes."

"Father! Father!" A pink haired boy dashed into the room with a paper in his little hands. He looked content as he proudly displayed his painting to his 'Father', the King of Clubs.

"Father, look what I've drawn!" the little boy showed a drawing of yellow tulips. The childish painting with monochromatic color on the flower made the child smiled with pride. 'Makoto' ruffled the boy's head tenderly, while inspecting the work of art.

"You had improved a lot, my child. Isn't this from our garden? Next time try to use variety of colors instead focusing on one."

"I will."

"Now why don't you put down your work and join us for lunch, Hayato? Our guests would like to know more about you." 'Hayato' followed his orders and sat beside 'Haru'.

"I think you all know my adopted son, the Second Prince of Clubs Hayato Shigino-Tachibana."

"The Jack of Hearts' younger brother!" Momo pointed out. "I thought it was a rumor!"

"It's not. I had his brother's permission and he was willing to stay with me."

They were not married yet, and they already have a child.

"Father, is Ren and Ran having lunch with us?"

"They are. In fact, they were with the Jack. They have a few more guests to greet. And your brother is coming too!"

"I haven't seen him for a long time!" the little prince smiled with glee. "I can't wait to show him around!"

"After the meeting, you can take him to your room."

"Hurrah!" 'Hayato' rose his little arms into the sky. Suddenly, there was a knock on the door and the guard knocked on the door and yelled:

"Your Majesty, the representatives from Hearts has arrived."

'Makoto' nodded, he stood up and commanded.

"Let them in."

Rin was full after having a decent meal, which they had medium-cooked steak with mashed potatoes, along with chocolate mousse cake as dessert. He had met the other representatives during lunch time and picked up stuff during lunch through conversations and observations. He began to learn how things work in this place. He had figured out the name of the four countries, which were similar to a normal deck of cards. Their title as well-Kings, Queens, Jacks, Aces and those with numbers- were copied from poker cards as well.

His sister Matsuoka Gou was there, like 'Ai', she was the Ace of Hearts, the advisor to the King and the Prime Minister of the country of Hearts. Her boss, was none other than his ex-captain, Mikoshiba Seijuro.

When she entered the dining lounge, she immediately bowed to her brother in a respectful way. Instead of calling him 'Onii-chan', she addressed him as "Brother'. Her short, flowery, red Japanese-style lolita dress was something he would not allow his sister to wear. Her hair was tied into her usual ponytail, with cherry blossoms decorated on her hair. Then, she hugged her brother, which made 'Seijuro', the King of Hearts roared with laughter. Rin finally understand where 'Momo' got his terrible fashion sense from. The King was in orange-red, with a 17th century style clothing and a shorts just around his thighs.

It seemed to be that 'Gou' was the Princess of Spades-as 'Rin' was the Queen of Spades-, but she moved to Hearts for unknown reasons. Rin could not comprehend why his sister became the Ace of Hearts? Why would his sister give up the luxurious life as a Princess but work as Mikoshiba's advisor. What if he do something disgusting or disrespectful to her? What about her own safety? Gou was not strong enough to fight people. Especially those perverted men who lust for her beauty. As a protective brother, many assumptions clouded in his mind, but it vanished once he detected a katana hanging on her waist, inscribing with a small gold cherry blossom and their family name.

He was slapped on the back by the Jack of Hearts, 'Kisumi'. Rin gave him a glare, but the pick hair male stuck out his tongue in a playful manner. His presence into the room had charmed several maids with his handsome look. Unlike most of them who had historical-based clothing style, Rin could say he was the most stylish. His shirt was open, revealing his bare chest; he had a red bandana wrapping his skull; black pearl-like necklace and belt chained around him like ropes; and he was wearing jeans with cowboy boots. 'Kisumi' greeted his brother with a kiss on the cheek and the two embraced. The Second Prince was glad to reunite with his brother whom he had not seen for weeks.

Their Queen of Hearts was not outstanding, compared to the group of red, she only wore a yellow renaissance corset gown. The only red she had was the heart shaped necklace of hers, shining brightly around her neck. She was Chigusa Hanamura, Gou's best friend. With her position as the Queen, she should be married to the King. However, 'Seijuro' openly confessed his feelings to his Ace, and she was not bother about it! She teased her Ace while fanning herself with a small fan. He then discovered that the King and Queen do not have the obligation to marry each other. Rin was relieved when 'Gou' turned him down, or else he would grab the butter knife on his right hand and throw it directly into the red hair king's face.

The representatives from Diamonds was fashionably late. They were people Rin did not recognize, and pretty hard to distinguish their features as they were covered with exquisite designed masks. They looked like they were attending a masquerade ball, with their elegant garments and the strong smell of cologne spreading around the room. There was the King of Diamonds, who was in brown and black; the Queen of Diamonds in his pure white Greek-style chiton; the Jack of Diamonds in his hood like those in Assassin Creed, bow and arrow hanging on his back; and the Ace of Diamonds, who dressed like the Grim Reaper, in a black cloak and purple shirt, stood quietly behind the King, who was his brother.

They started lunch once 'Nagisa' and the twins entered the room. They spent one hour and a half inside the dining lounge, enjoying the poultry served by the cook. Rin had not seen the Ace of Clubs around, which 'Makoto' said he was having a meeting with the other Ministers. He would join them for the KQJA meeting, which was an important mid-annual meeting they would be having later on.

Rin followed his group to the meeting chamber, which was on the second floor of the palace. It was a spacious circular room which had rows of seats surrounding a small podium in the center. The Spades representatives had claimed the seats near to the entrance, next to their hosts. There were well-prepared documents and stationeries on each seat.

Rin was not really a political person, he barely discuss of those chaotic matters to his peers. Most of his friends were interested in sports, entertainment or Internet memes. Seeing the people he knew acting all serious and debating like he would see in news, it made him nervous. Hopefully he could endure the 2 and a half hour meeting, and probably able to catch up with the topics.

The representatives had already positioned themselves at their desired spots, waiting for the meeting to be officially start. A group of local journalists attended the meeting as well. They were invited to witness the conference so they can make articles about this event.

The last person who entered the room, was a youth who just looked like a Victorian tutor. He placed a stack of files on the vacant seat in front of the podium, then he adjusted his glasses and cleared his throat.

"Good afternoon Ladies and Gentlemen, my name is Rei Ryugazaki, the Ace of this country," he stopped, adjusting his glasses again. "I sincerely apologize for unable to properly introduce myself during lunchtime due to political matters and consultation session. As I had just accept this job three weeks ago, there was still many things I need to learn and I am still green in this area. However, I look forward to work with all of you and we can work together to make this two days of KQJA meeting successful. Thank you."

Everyone applauded at his speech. Once it died out, the Ace of Clubs started on introducing the objectives and the expected results of the meeting. The audience made some notes on the document with the prepared pencils. He listed out one by one on the prepared blackboard and explained descriptively. He did accidentally left out several items, but he managed to correct his mistakes in the most possible way. Rin was quite amazed at 'Rei's' professionalism and his capability in handling heavy tasks.

Each representative was required to give a presentation on a certain aspect about their country's current situation and development. It seemed the one by one presentation was 'Sousuke's' personal lullaby. He closed his eyes, snoring lightly. His subordinates done most of the work. Rin, however, just sat and listened. In his opinion, their ideas were way better than most development plans the government had made. Everyone was pretty tolerant, there was rarely a fight.

For example, Diamonds were planning to make their immigration rule stricter, with examinations and approval from the government. Many had agreed on this new law, with a several questions raised.

His sister from Hearts had made a report on their current situation and urban development, they did not have major financial problems. In the end, they did ask Spades to help with the security, for some problems they had with the mafia and other illegal activities happened in the dark side of Hearts. 'Sousuke' agreed by providing his best military trainers to the country and gave sponsorship on weapons.

Clubs, were having a high supply on flower due to Springtime. Flowers were one of the bestselling Clubs exported product, which most nobles would purchase for medical, drinking or decoration purpose. However, another bestselling product, seafood was undergoing a low supply. 'Rei' had requested for a decrease in seafood demand until Summer.

They were the last group to propose their presentation. 'Momo' woke his King up with his pencil poking on the face. The both of them, walked to the podium and presented. The Spades King, introduced his newly made automobile. The idea was constructed by their 7th of Spades, who was their minister of transport and road safety and his team. It had the same functions as normal cars would have. Before that, Spades engineers had made several prototypes, which they found some technical problems. In the end, they settled with their current model, the Spades No.7. 'Momo' helped the King exhibited pictures of the failed designs and the earlier models on the blackboard.

During the King's speech, 'Ai' shoved a thin stack of documents underneath the table. He told him he would present the document next. Rin, who was oblivious on the matter, quickly flipped through the papers. It was a proposal on the Queen's plan to reduce poverty rate among citizens and reparations on the previous uprising. He made a self evaluation on the proposal while trying to make a clear and concise speech in his limited amount of time before 'Sousuke' finished his.

"Your Majesty, it's about your turn!" His Ace gave him a warning. He was right, 'Momo' had started to clean the blackboard while 'Sousuke' had returned to his seat. Rin closed his eyes and silently prayed for himself. Steadily, he moved towards the podium.

It was the first time Rin had this anxious feeling bubbling inside him. He was ever confident in public, but his 'friends' were staring at him, as he was about to be executed. Even 'Makoto', the warmest person in this room can bring chills to his spine. He sucked an amount of air, then began.

"Hello. I am Matsuoka, Queen of Spades. Today I would like to share my Reformation plan with you. As you know-" Rin looked at 'Sousuke', who gave him a silent nod. "Spades experienced some hardship before the reign of our new king. The old king, who brought nothing but trouble-"

Rin fell onto the ground, placing his hand on his temples. The unexpected throb on his head caused him terrible pain. Many people approached him to see his condition, including some photographers and journalists. 'Ai' hurried to his side, checking his temperature and certain parts of his body. The aching pain lingered for a few seconds until it was gone. His face was pale, sweat dripped down like rain.

"Your Majesty?" The young doctor asked.

"I'm fine," Rin weakly replied. "Just a headache."

"You must be feeling fatigue," their host interrupted. "For preparing all of these."

"That must be the case, the Queen stayed up all night in the library." The doctor had finished inspecting.

"Would you like to take a rest? You're allowed to excuse yourself from the rest of the day. We can continue this matter tomorrow."

"Your Majesty!" 'Rei' cried in alarm.

"Shouldn't we show a good hospitality to our guests? What's the harm for letting the Spades Queen leave the meeting?"

"It just-" he stopped as the Clubs King smiled at him. "As you wish your Highness."

"Haru?"

"I have no opposition to the king's wishes as well," 'Haru' avoided his King by turning his head away. A habit that he would always do.

"Then it's settled. Oh where is his room again, Nagisa?"

"The first one on the third floor, West Wing."

"That's right! I'll immediately arrange a guard to escort you."

"There no need for such service. I'll do the job."

'Makoto' smirked, as he had received a secret signal. "10 minutes."

"Thank you." 'Sousuke' placed his left hand underneath the Queen's knee

"Wait a minute-"

Too late, the Spades King had carried him into his arms. 'Gou' let out a long 'awwww' while 'Kisumi' whistled in a suggestive manner, receiving a few giggles as a response. He swore to kick the Jack's arse once he was fully recovered.

"Your Highness, your shoulder-"

"It will be fine," He winked at the Ace of Spades. "He's light."

With many twist and turns around the green palace, they finally reached their destination. Throughout their journey, 'Sousuke' never dropped him, only carefully tucked him on the bed in their guest chamber.

"Stay here with me," Rin blurted out.

The King shook his head. "I still need to go back. They're expecting me."

'Sousuke' was ready to leave Rin behind, but he stopped and returned by his side.

"Do you want your goodnight kiss?"

"Why would I want that?"

"That's a shame. You love beg for a kiss."

There was a deadly silence in the room, then bashfully Rin muttered 'yes'.

"Excellent."

Closing his eyes, Rin felt 'Sousuke' kissing his forehead. Next, he received another kiss on the lips.

"Sleep well, my love," the King of Spades quietly left the chamber. Rin had drifted into a deep sleep with the feel of his lips still lingering.

Hours later, Rin woke up with a stretch. The familiar surrounding He was back!

"You're awake?" Sousuke said as he finished his can of Coca-Cola, with his back against his roommate. Rin was glad that his best friend had turned back to normal. Yet he could not help but to blush a little, his memory still stayed with the flirtatious King of Spades.

"I'm hungry," Rin moaned. "Anything to eat?" The dark hair teen pointed to a bento box on his desk. Rin got out from his bed and ate it rapidly. The taste could not surpass the steak he had before.

How would he still know the taste of the steak if it was just a dream...

"That's weird," Rin muttered.

"What's weird?" His roommate asked.

"I just had the strangest dream. With all of us being royals and our country and ranks are based on poker cards."

"Oh really? Bet you watched too much Game of Thrones."

"That's a different story! It feels so surreal." Then, Rin told him all about his adventure in Clubs. Every single detail he experienced were described, but he left out the intimate relationship he had with the King, to lessen the awkwardness.

"That's interesting..." Sousuke commented. "But there's something I need to tell you."

"What is it?"

There was a pregnant silence in the room for a while. Rin could hear the both of them breathing. Sousuke, who was unwillingly at first, but he reluctantly voice himself.

"I'm not sure what happened. After all, it keeps bothering me. I know you are my best friend and I've known you for so long. But-"

Rin felt his heart beated in a rhythm, slow but loud. His cheeks were hot for no reason. Could it be-

"You were acting weird this afternoon."

What?

"I was? What do you mean?"

"You did lots of strange things, speaking stuff that we don't quite understand. It was kinda embarrassing, but hilarious at some point."

"What did I do?!" Rin demanded.

"When Kou and the others returned, you acted as you haven't seen her for ages. We had pizza for lunch, which you declared you had never ate before and demanded for a recipe. You even called our team members by number instead of names. You were way too polite the Iwatobi guys, and talked to them in a very formal way. Then for no reason, you had this sudden headache when we were in the train, and kept asking for Ai. And-" Sousuke stopped, trying to hide himself into his palm.

"What did I do? Please don't tell me I cried!"

"No, you didn't."

RIn let out his breath. "Thank God I did not-"

"You kissed me...before you passed out."

After that night, nobody had seen Captain Matsuoka in practice for three days. Rumored said he was sick with a cold. The Samezuka team tried to visit him but they were rejected harshly.

On the other side, the Queen of Spades woke up from his dream in an alternate world with 'technologies', with the people he knew as his 'teammates' and 'rivals'. He also had heard the story of him almost fainted in the KQJA meeting and his King carrying him in public. He refrained himself from attending dinner and the ball on the second day. He was truly ashamed of the humiliation.

 **(A/N: First one shot on Free! cardverse AU is finally published. It took me months to develop the settings and ta da!**  
 **I really like historical European buildings and fashion, which influenced the palace of the Cardverse universe. The Clubs Palace, is based on the white and green Winter palace in Russia.**  
 **Originally, I wanted to make our main characters accidentally travelled into the other universe. As I wrote, I figured out the flow had become boring and it became informational rather than story telling.**  
 **Making Rin we all know as the representative of the reader to have a glimpse into this new alternate universe. Through his eyes, we all know who is who and their chemistry. We also learn his view on the alternate universe and comparison between our normal characters and the characters who had experienced different things.**  
 **I hope I did well on this fanfic, constructive criticism is openly welcome. )**

 **Cardverse AU FunFact (3 per day):**  
 **1\. Automobile is first launched in Spades, otherwise, other countries used carriages as their main transportation.**  
 **2\. Clubs have a limitation on the usage of automobile as it can cause pollution and affected their crops. The government allow automobiles used for export and import goods from other countries.**  
 **3\. Diamonds is made up of streams and rivers, thus they use boats as their main transportation. They only have a small amount of carriages, which usually are used by the Ranked nobles.**


End file.
